Superintendent and Board Member Albright Urge Community Members to Advocate
for Fair School Funding in the State Budget Process
Chardon Board of Education Regular Meeting – March 17, 2025
Meeting Details: The meeting was held at 5:30 pm, at the Chardon Board of Education building adjacent to the Chardon Middle School at 428 North Street, Chardon. Here is the link to the available Meeting Agendas and Minutes. Click on the meetings tab on the right to access the Agendas and Minutes. The board meeting video is also available here through Chardon Geauga TV (GTV) and agenda items are listed according to the time that they were discussed on the video.
ROLL CALL AND WELCOME - Meeting was called to order. It was stated that this meeting is being held in accordance with Section 3313.16 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Attendance: Board President Karen Blankenship, Vice President Andrea Clark, and Board Members Todd Albright, James Midyette and C.J. Paterniti (arriving late).
Staff Attendance: Superintendent Dr. Michael Hanlon, Treasurer Deb Armbruster, Head Varsity Coach for Football Mitch Hewitt, Chardon Early Learning Center Principal Douglas Higham, and Intervention Specialist Kristen Sironen.
1:20 Min Adoption of the Agenda - Approved.
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by 3rd grade Munson Elementary student, Vincent Virostek.
Mission Statement - Read by Dr. Hanlon.
3:23 Min Hearing of the Public- Agenda Items Only - There were none.
3:27 Min Consent Agenda - The board considered ten items on the consent agenda, including the Minutes from the February 18, 2025 regular meeting which are available here. All consent agenda items were approved. All of these items, 3.1-3.10, and associated documents/contracts can be found here, then selecting the meeting tab, date, agenda and number 3 on the agenda. Highlights from the consent agenda include but are not limited to:
5:50 Min Presentation of Student Liaison Report
High school seniors attended a presentation on substance abuse and drunk/distracted driving held at Parkside Church, afterwards collecting their caps and gowns for graduation at the Media Center.
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The Chardon High School Drama Club presented the musical The Little Mermaid over the past weekend.
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8th/9th graders took the PSAT exam, and 10th/11th graders took the SAT on March 11th, while seniors were given the option between doing a career exploration survey in Naviance or shadowing in a job of interest. Reviewer Note: Naviance is an app that a school can provide for college, career and life readiness goals. See more here.
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Thursday, March 6th was the day for National Honor Society induction and graduation ceremonies.
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Spring Break begins the week of March 23rd.
7:27 Min Superintendent Report and Recommendations. Items, contracts, fee proposals and associated documents for 5.1-5.10 can be found here, select meetings, date, and number 5 on the agenda. All approved.
Highlights from the Superintendent’s report and recommendations include but are not limited to:
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The Superintendent presented a written report available here.
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Dr. Hanlon spoke further about the House Budget moving through the Ohio Assembly. Workgroup members, including Dr. Hanlon, provided testimony to the House Education and Finance Committees urging full implementation of the Fair School Funding Plan model by the legislature. Dr. Hanlon’s report states, “Community members are urged to contact our legislators to encourage the complete implementation of the Fair School Funding Plan including both the phase-in and update of the Base Cost Inputs to FY 24.” At 9:58 minutes in the video, Dr. Hanlon provides a slide that illustrates the budget process and explains where things are currently in the budget process schedule.
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See the Superintendent’s report above and 11:22 in the video for two additional items of note explained by Dr. Hanlon: Power4Schools, an energy aggregation program, and the Erate Agreement, a technology program (See 5.8, and 5.9 in the agenda for project details and documents).
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Dr. Hanlon briefly discussed the next conceptual options for the district moving forward with the tda (Then Design Architecture) Planning Services agreement which will be mentioned again for approval process below and the document can be found here.
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The Chardon Board of Education recognized Mitch Hewitt for the many contributions not only to the Chardon Hilltopper Football Program, but also to the development of student athletes as members of our school and community. Reviewer Note: Coach Hewitt resigned as head coach, but a recent article in the Maple Leaf said that he would continue teaching at Chardon.
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24:40 Building Showcase, Chardon Early Learning Center (CELC) presentation by Douglas Higham and Kristen Sironen accompanied by a slide presentation here.
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The Superintendent made a recommendation to the Board of Education to approve Resolution 2025-07: Accepting Invitation to Join with the Chagrin Valley Conference for Interscholastic Athletics (2026-2027 school year).
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Proposal for Chardon Local Schools Master Planning Services from tda (ThenDesign Architecture). Ms. Clark questioned when the community would be involved with planning. Dr. Hanlon responded that when new construction comes into the conversations with tda, the community will be brought in concurrent with the development of proposals.
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The Superintendent made a recommendation to the Board of Education to approve the attached proposals (5.7) with SafeAir Contractors for the removal of asbestos tile flooring and mastic at the Chardon High School and the Chardon Middle School
44:24 Min Chief Financial Officer’s Report and Recommendations. Items and associated documents for 6.1-6.4 can be found here, then select meetings, date, and number 6 on the agenda. All approved. Highlights of the presentation include but are not limited to:
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Summary Financial Reports for February 2025 here. Ms. Armbruster generated a clear AI summary of her financial presentation and this is easily read from the document here.
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For the General Fund, Revenue is trending $210, 849 unfavorable to forecast.
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For the General Fund, Expenditure is trending $499,007 favorable to forecast.
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For the General Fund, Net potential trend is $288,158 favorable impact on cash balance.
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The General Fund Operating Cash balance is right on target.
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The Food Service Report reveals a deficit for February due to the fact that subsidies did not come in a timely manner given that February is a short month.
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The Permanent Improvement Fund received tax fund revenues and will remain in the green for the rest of the school year.
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The Treasurer/CFO made a recommendation to the Board of Education to approve Resolution 2025-08: Accepting the amounts and rates as determined by the Budget Commission and authorizing the necessary tax levies and certifying them to the County Auditor. The Resolution can be found here.
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Note in the agenda at 6.4, the Fiscal Year 2025 Final Appropriations Measure Amendment #4 as presented here and the Certificate of Resources here.
1:00.30 Min Board of Education Reports and Recommendations
Chardon Schools Board Reports Slide Presentations available here.
Chardon Schools Foundation- There was no report from Andrea Clark.
1:00.56 Min Legislative Liaison Report - Todd Albright’s slides noted HB15, HB28, HB40 and HB22, HB3 and HB7, HB54, SB2, HB117, HB97, HB125, SB34, SB7, and HB96.
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There was Board discussion about the difference between a renewal levy and a replacement levy. A replacement levy extends the terms and conditions of a levy that is expiring. However, unlike a renewal levy, a replacement levy takes into account property value increases and tax collection benefits from this increased value. Dr. Hanlon advised that the legislative reasoning behind HB 28, which would eliminate the ability to levy replacement tax levies, is that the taxpayer generally doesn't understand how a replacement levy works. The aim of HB 3 is to improve school bus safety with a number of provisions.The Department of Education and Workforce will administer a safety grant program that allows districts to apply for grants to purchase safety features for school buses. According to Mr. Albright’s slide, HB96 features “broad cuts across the board to the state share of school funding to traditional schools because it doesn’t update the base cost data inputs of the plan to reflect current data for property/income values.” Mr. Albright expressed concern that this Budget bill steers the state away from mandated constitutional funding of the schools.
Observer Note: The sound is poor at this point in the video, so much of what Mr. Albright and/or the Board members discussed is difficult or impossible to interpret. His slides beginning at 1:00.56 gives a brief summary of some of the House Bills that he mentioned. Sound resumed around 1:05 minutes in the video with multiple disruptions returning at 1:08 minutes until 1:10.56.
1:13.28 Min Auburn Career Center Report presented by Todd Albright, Board of Education member, accompanied by slides beginning at 1:13.30 in the video. Highlights include:
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Superintendent of the Auburn Career Center, Brian Bontempo, has submitted his resignation and a search through the Education Services Center is underway for his replacement.
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Auburn Career Center Public Safety Complex is complete.
1:18.15 Min Student/Staff Liaison Report, presented by James Midyette, Board of Education member, accompanied by slides beginning at 1:18.21 in the video. Highlights include:
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Chardon Middle School hosted the Greater Cleveland Council of Teachers of Mathematics Competition
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Park Elementary baked dog treats for the Geauga County Animal Shelter animals.
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Chardon High School Model UN traveled to CWRU to complete at the Cleveland Council of World Affairs Spring Conference
1:22.23 Min The Board of Education approved the request of Board of Education Member, Todd Albright, to attend the OSBA (Ohio School Boards Association) Cuyahoga County Open House on 2/5/2025, a trip to the State House in Columbus to testify before the House Education Committee on 3/4/2025, and the Education Leaders Summit on 3/12/2025. The expense report for reimbursement was attached.
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Mr. Albright advised that he traveled to Columbus to advocate, as a school board member, for full implementation of the Fair School Funding Act. He expressed his personal concern that it did not go well. He learned that their Ohio representative, believes that Chardon Schools have a $30 million savings account in the form of windfalls from recent tax reappraisals which is not factual per Mr. Albright and the Board. Reviewer Note: Mr. Albright did not identify the representative, but Sarah Fowler Arthur is the Chardon representative and she is the chair of the Education Committee. The Committee meeting was held on March 4, 2025. Several members also stated that they were communicating with the Representative concerning this statement. Mr. Albright further advised that he called the Representative (again, name not stated) in an attempt to provide correct information to her, and she, as of the time of the meeting, had not returned his call. Mr. Albright expressed grave concerns about the ultimate impact of these cuts on the children in the school district and other Ohio districts. He encouraged the community to call their legislators about this issue. Dr. Hanlon then expressed his belief, that from his perspective, Mr. Albright’s testimony went very well and he expressed appreciation for Mr. Albright’s participation in Columbus.
New Business - There was none.
1:30.30 Min hearing of the Public on Non-Agenda Items - There was none.
1:30.49 Min Motion to adjourn approved at 7 pm. The video concluded at 1:31.03.
Board agendas and minutes are available online.
Next meeting is the regular meeting scheduled for April 21, 2025 at 5:30 pm.
Virtual Observer: Jacqueline Berger
Editor: Sarah McGlone
Reviewer: Gail Roussey
Date submitted: 3/24/2025
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